Donna’s Blog

Bread and Butter

I was told to put it in the refrigerator and let it sit for a few days.  Then, on a certain day, I could take it out and add potato flakes and sugar to it and sit it on the counter and let it “grow”.  After letting it grow, I could pour out a cup and give to a friend, and then use the other cup as part of my ingredients for what would be the most delicious homemade bread I had ever tasted!  Then I would refrigerate the “starter” and the process would begin all over again.

I love bread!  It doesn’t even have to be homemade…..I just love bread!  I remember as a child, that one of my favorite snacks was a piece of bread and butter.  It just didn’t get any better than that!  (Unless of course, it was peanut butter and syrup in a cup.  But that’s another story!)  

When I discovered the recipe for homemade bread…I was in heaven.  The recipe made three loaves of bread.  The aroma of fresh bread baking in the oven was just amazing.  I always knew when the bread was almost done baking because that’s when that heavenly scent would begin to seep out of the cracks of the oven door.  It filled every corner; it felt as if it wrapped itself around me and my mouth would start to water! 

The loaves would be a light golden brown on top.  The crust was just flaky enough, but not too flaky.  I would slice oh so carefully into the bread so as not to smoosh my pieces.  I probably should have let it cool, but I could never wait.  What is the point of making homemade bread if you can’t enjoy a warm piece that almost melts in your mouth!!  Of course adding butter made it only that much better.  The butter would be absorbed into the hot bread and every bite became a wonderful taste sensation!  I’m getting hungry again just thinking about it!

As much as I love bread and butter, I know that I can’t live on that alone.  I have to incorporate the other important food groups as well.  It all works together to keep me healthy.  It’s about balance and eating a little of what I want and also some of what I don’t necessarily want to give me a completely healthy body!

I think Jesus must have loved bread, too.  When he was in the dessert fasting and the devil came to tempt him, he talked about bread.  The devil knew that Jesus was hungry and maybe Jesus had even been thinking about how nice a slice of hot bread would be.  When the devil tries to encourage Jesus to strike the rock and turn it into food, Jesus reminds him that man does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from God. 

Really?  I wonder if I have really grasped that truth like I should.  I was thinking about that this morning and thinking about how there are days when I try to live on bread alone.  The Word of God just sits on my night stand and I don’t consume my daily portion that I need.  I am walking around without proper spiritual nurishment and I am fooled into believing that I am fine.

In the new year, I want things to be different.  I want to feast upon His word every day.  I remember as teenager that I made it my goal to read through the Bible in a year.  It was a tough committment, but one that opened my spiritual eyes and fed my hungry soul.  I want to do that with my husband and girls this year.  So I’ve picked up a Bible reading plan and we are going to start it on Monday.  My plan is to end every meal time with our Bible reading.  I have a feeling that God will teach us a lot as we invest time in His word.  And I hope that by the end of the year, we will be “filled” with every promise and lesson the scripture holds for us.  

A Happy New Year to you and my prayer is that you will discover anew that God’s Word is as fresh as a homemade slice of bread….and a lot better!! 

Tin Roof Memories

The grass is a beautiful green, so it must have been summer time.  We are all decked out in our best clothes, so it must have been taken after church.  The photo has been enlarged from a 4 X 6 to an 8 X 10, but the picture is fuzzy.  I guess the cameras in 1968 weren’t all that great….or else the original picture just didn’t scan too well.  One thing is evident, that is me sitting between my brother and sister getting our picture taken and I am obviously pouting about something.

We are on the front lawn of the Jason’s Chapel parsonage.  I think we were there from 1968 to 1971.  I had such fond memories of that place.  I remember the parsonage had a tin roof and made a really cool sound when it rained….as if a hundred drummers were keeping time to a marching band coming down the lane.  I remember it had a big concrete porch on the front that was really cool to sit on during the summer….literally!  It provided shade and a nice place to have a glass of lemonde and take a break from playing hide and seek.  In my memory, it was a beautiful place. 

The framed picture that mom gave me yesterday for Christmas reveals a bit of a different story.  There is the tin roof, not shiny and new….but rusty looking and bent out of shape in several places.  The concrete front porch is indeed shaded but shows several pieces of broken concrete.  Our dog, Bertha, sits on the porch and behind her sits the push lawn mower as well as a tin trash can.  Not quite the picturesque place that I remember.  It makes me wonder what my mom thought about living in a parsonage so rustic.  I never once heard her complain about any parsonage we lived in.  She just moved in, cleaned up when necessary (and it was necessary several times) and made the parsonage our home.  She always made the best of whatever situation we were in.

So why was I pouting on this day?  It was a beautiful, sunny day.  I don’t know if it was a special occasion that we were taking the picture for, or just because it was time to take a picture….but it looks like I wasn’t happy about it.  Maybe I wanted to run and play and not sit down for a picture.  Maybe I was just ready to change out of my church clothes.  Maybe I didn’t want to be placed in the middle, next to my sister.  Who knows?  But it is there for all to see…..me, pouting.

I’m sure I got over it in time.  As all pouters know, it never causes you to get your way, so there is no point in pouting for long.  You usually just end up stuck in a bad mood, trying to figure out how to get out of it.  Hoping someone will crack a joke or something and give you a reason to laugh.  Because after all, there is that beautiful, sunny day just waiting to be enjoyed.  There is the cool shade on the front porch and lemonad to be enjoyed.  And there’s the sound of a hundred drums on the tin roof just playing in preparation for the parade of life to be played that day.  When the parade marches by, I don’t want to sit on the grass and pout, I want to be part of it!! 

Merry Christmas!!

Merry Christmas!!!

Actually it is Christmas Eve as I write this…..but I just love the anticipation of Christmas Day!  So I wanted to go ahead and tell you Merry Christmas!

We are spending our Christmas Eve at home watching Christmas movies…my favorite thing to do.  We always watch It’s A Wonderful Life.  I love that movie.  I have so many favorite moments in it, but my favorite line has to be when George’s brother Harry, makes a toast, “To my brother, George Bailey…the richest man in town!”  We also always watch White Christmas at some point during the season.  We actually watched that one a few weeks ago.  We’ve been watching that with the girls since they were little.  They love the song “Sisters”…..and we always start singing when it comes to that scene! 

But, the movie hasn’t actually started yet.  I just got home from gift wrapping at the mall for the Quota Club.  We start gift wrapping the day after Thanksgiving and “wrap” it up on Christmas Eve!!  We made over $1,000 just today!!  You wouldn’t believe how many last minute shoppers are shopping and then waiting in line for the gifts to be wrapped!  I’m glad they are there, because it helps us raise a lot of money for charity.

Also, the movie can’t start right now because Karlee is over at her boyfriends house having dinner with his family.  Yikes….I still can’t believe she is old enough to have a boyfriend.  I would say this is her first really “serious” one….but not TOO serious…she is only a freshman in high school for goodness sakes!  He is a really nice boy though; he comes to church with us every Sunday and plays with Karlee in our orchestra.  Then we feed him a good Sunday lunch….that’s a pretty good deal!

We normally also drive around and look at lights on Christmas Eve, but it is raining right now and I think that is the forecast for the rest of the night and tomorrow.  So, I’ve got my pajamas on and I’m fixing to hit the recliner and just stay there for the night.

It’s hard to believe that it will be time to pack all of the decorations and put them away for another year.  I love looking at the lights and the Christmas wreaths that our hanging on our windows.  The girls each have a tree in their room and we have the main tree in the living room.  It is always so fun to decorate and see how the house is transformed by all of the candles and greenery everywhere.  It will seem so bare when it is gone. 

I’m so glad that the important things remain….the light and love that Jesus brought stays with us every day.

I pray that you and yours will have a very Merry Christmas!!

medicine and golf balls

It has been a tough week this week. 

I never dreamed that today we would be attending the funeral of a 16 year old boy.  Tyler was driving a little too fast last week and hit another car head on.  He was rushed to the hospital where surgeons repaired a torn aorta, but there was nothing that could remedy the massive head trama he suffered.  Days went by, prayers were prayed and we waited.  Then the news came on Tuesday that there was nothing else that could be done.  Only eternity will reveal the “why?” and God’s plan in all of this. 

So it was especially good to gather with our Sunday School class last night for our annual Christmas party.  I needed the fellowship and laughter.  It was fun to light all the candles in the house and set out the nice plates and napkins.  People began to arrive with their arms full of goodies and wrapped ornaments for our gift exchange.  It only took a few hugs from my friends for the heaviness in my heart to begin to ease up.  I guess that is why Proverbs 17:22 says “A merry heart does good, like medicine.”

It was a fun night of food, fellowship and lots of laughter.  These are people that I dearly love…..some of them were at our wedding 20 years ago…..some of them have walked with us through difficult days…..some of them always keep us laughing…..all of them are a gift.  I’ve been thinking all week about how the most awesome thing about Christmas is not celebrating the gifts under the tree, but the love around it, much like the love that was celebrated in a stable under a bright star.

So it was especially neat when our Sunday School teacher shared a reading about a professor who was teaching a pschology class and filled a glass jar with golf balls.  Teacher - “Is it full?”  Students - “Yes”.  He then poured pebbles in the jar that filled in the empty spaces surrounding the golf balls.  Teacher - “Is it full now?”  Students - “Yes.”  He then proceeded to pour sand in and fill up the spaces between the pebbles.  Teacher - “Is it full?”  Students (hesitating) “Yes?”  Then he proceeded to pour two cups of coffee until the sand soaked them up.  Teacher - “Is it full?”  The students knew enough to just be quiet this time!  The professor explained that the jar represented life.  The golf balls are the most important things in life….our relationship with God, family and friends.  The pebbles represent important things like our health, our career.  The sand represents the rest….all the little blessings we have in life.  We can focus our life on the little things like the sand and miss out on the most important things.  If we filled our jar with sand first, would be there be room for the golf balls?  We have the greatest joy when we focus on the important things and then the rest will be “filled in”. 

One of the students raised her hand and asked the teacher what the two cups of coffee represented.  “I’m glad you asked.  The two cups means that no matter how full your life is, you always have time for a cup of coffee with a friend!”

I just love that!  So here’s my new motto:  “Every day is a day to celebrate the golf balls and grab a cup of coffee!!”       

Three notes and a guitar

I think I might have a little music angel that sits on my shoulder and whispers in my ear. 

I was driving around last night just thinking about something and all of the sudden it became three notes and a guitar.  I know this sounds crazy, but it really does feel as if it comes from out of the blue….you know, like the angel I just mentioned.  I didn’t plan to start singing, but I “hear” these three notes and I just have to sing it.  It is a good thing I am in the car by myself at this point!!  I can also hear the chords and exactly how the guitar should sound.  So I start singing and singing because I already love what I’m hearing.  It’s times like these that I wish I could go and pick up the guitar and be able to play it instantly so that I could compose what I am hearing in my head!

I couldn’t wait to get home and get to the piano; it’s not a guitar, but it will do.  I started playing in the key of E, because that is what key I was singing in.  The key of E is not my favorite because it has sharps in it; but sometimes I like to play in a different key like that because it forces me out of my comfort zone.  So I started working on the melody first so that I wouldn’t get frustrated by trying to find the complete chord.  Then it got a little more frustrating because I was developing this great melody (verse and chorus) and I only had three words!  That wasn’t going to work.  So I decided to make a pot of coffee and take a break for a few minutes and see if that would help. 

Ben was in the den and I told him it was driving me crazy……this having a melody and no words.  That is not how I am accustomed to writing.  I always write the lyrics and music at the same time.  Of course a month ago I began hearing a melody and I still don’t have words for that.  So when I started working on this melody with only three words….I just knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep if I didn’t think of SOMETHING to put to the melody! 

I made the coffee and decided to treat myself to some M&Ms.  It must have done the trick, because I carried all that to the piano and began working on it again.  I had a direction I wanted to go and I got my pen and paper out to see if I could “map” it all out!  I was in “the zone”…….I couldn’t leave that piano bench if the house was falling down around me.  It’s like I’m holding my “creative breath” and can’t exhale until the song is done.  Three hours later, I was able to breath!

I sat at the piano and just played it over and over….still tweaking a word here or there….finding ways to make it flow better, making sure the music and words are in “harmony”.  It’s very important to me that the music carries out the thought of what I’m saying.  When it turns out right….I can just feel it.  And it sounded right last night.  And it still sounds right this morning; although I left the house for work while everyone was still asleep (school is out!!) and I couldn’t go to the piano and play it like I really wanted to.

That’s o.k., I and my guardian angel sang it all the way to work! 

Dr. Newhart on the road

We got to take “Dr. Newhart” on the road yesterday.

That is the Christmas musical/play that our kids learned.  It’s a really cute story about kids who have the “Christmas Day Dumps”….they’ve gotten all the toys they wanted, but they realized that toys don’t fill the empty hole in their heart.  So they go to see Dr. Newhart to see what can be done and they learn that if they will say a prayer, they can invite Jesus to live in their heart and fill the hole up with love!

The kids did such a great job on Sunday morning.  The characters in the play are fun to see….characters like the “pink ladies”, the “DIS-orderlies” and the interns…Frick and Frack.  Then there was Dr. Newhart, Nurse Philpot and the waiting room full of kids that needed help.  It’s always fun to see what kind of “hams” there are in the childrens group….it always comes out the morning of the play!  I think we have quite a few hams in our church.  One particular one is a young boy, Christopher.  I think he is four…..he was one of the dis-orderlies and he had the sunglasses and the attitude to match!  And of course there was Paige who enjoyed leading the congo line a little too much!  Where does she get that from?

After the performance on Sunday morning, the kids had a quick bite to eat and it was time to load up the vans to go to Griffin, GA.  We were taking the show on the road to Pastor Jeff’s church!  He was our children’s pastor that left just a few months ago to become Senior Pastor at Griffin.  It was about a three hour drive.  It was great to pull up to the church and see all the kids run and hug Pastor Jeff.  He is still missed…a lot!

The kids did a great job.  They did as good, if not better, than they did this morning.  Maybe it was because they were relaxed and just ready to have a good time.  But they seem to really jump right into character and do a great job.  Even on a strange platform and with no rehearsal, they acted it out just like pros! 

It was so fun to watch them again.  I start thinking about all the Christmas plays I was in as a kid.  Those were such fun days.  I remember memorizing lines and learning songs and loving every minute…..especially when the curtain went up!  I hope the kids will remember this experience and how much fun they had.  We took lots of pictures so we can look back and remember all the crazy characters and especially see who all the hams were!! 

God is great, God is good

Before I could eat the warm, delicious oatmeal on a cold Tennessee morning, I had to remember to say my prayer….God is great, God is good, let us thank Him for our food.

That’s one of the first prayers we taught our girls to say.  It is short and easy to remember because it rhymes.  I never thought about why the prayer starts off with acknowledging God’s greatness and goodness.  I guess because that is always the best place to start when I am praying. 

Focusing on God’s greatness helps me to turn my thoughts away from the limitations of this world.  When I bring something to God in prayer, it is something I’ve already been thinking/burdened about and probably been trying to solve.  I don’t know why I think I can solve it….it just seems like the natural thing to do.  “Problem = figure it out”.  My immediate response is not always “problem = prayer”.  So as I come to God and begin to first of all focus on His greatness, I am reminded about how small I am and how GREAT He really is!

We talked about this last night in Bible Study. I had read a Beth Moore newsletter that challenged her readers to revitalize their prayer life during the holidays by beginning each prayer time by reading Exodus 15:11.  It is about focusing on the greatness of God.  It is really a beautiful scripture.  It is taken from the Israelites song of praise after God parted the Red Sea.  Now if there was ever a time to acknowledge that God was great….I would think that would be it!  There was definitely a big problem in front of them and not one of them was going to be able to solve it.  Moses didn’t even know how God was going to get them out of that one.  So he stood at the waters edge, with his toes sinking in the sand and began to pray…..”the Lord will fight for you”……which is what I’m sure Moses thought would be the only way.  The Egyptians were hot on their trail and I guess he figured God would send an army from heaven….or somehow equip them to have amazing strength to fight.  Could he have ever imagined that God would part the sea????  Don’t you just love a God that rescues us in ways we could never imagine?

So when they were delivered they sang a song to the Lord…..vs 11 “Who is like you, O Lord among the gods?  Who is like you, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing WONDERS?”

He is a WONDERful God…..He is amazing, He is great.  And whether I’m praying over oatmeal or about to come to the edge of the sea, I want to sing a song of His greatness.

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow

Some mornings it all just happens perfectly.

I can tell when I am in the middle of my hair drying process.  I flip my head upside down to start with to dry all the hair underneath…..this is supposed to add much needed “body” to my hair.  When I flip it all back I can tell if it is going to be a good hair day, or a bad hair day. 

Sometimes, I can do corrective maintenance with the curling iron.  So there is always the hope that the hair that just wouldn’t lay right when I was drying it, will conform to the proper direction when the necessary heating instrument is applied.  I’ve recently discovered that if I apply a light mist of hairspray over the stubborn areas before I use the curling iron, it responds with a stiffer curl.  That is good.  I like stiff curls. 

I don’t like my hair to move much during the day.  I know this is not the latest fashion statement in the hair world for today.  But when I put it in place, I want it to stay in place.  When bangs start falling in my eyes….it drives me crazy.  I also have this litte spot in the back of my head where my hair wants to part and if I don’t apply just the correct amount of hair spray to that area, it will soon be parting and you would think since I can’t SEE the back of my hair that I would not know when this happens.  But I do.  I can feel it and it drives me crazy.

I love good hair days.  I love when it all comes together perfectly.  When the gray hairs stay hidden in their place.  When the “flyaways” don’t fly away.  When the part that is supposed to be straight is straight and the part that is supposed to curl, curls.  When I look at the mirror and although I see the wrinkles developing around the eyes and that annoying whisker on the chin that tells me I’m aging….I see this great head of hair that cooperated and I am happy.

This may seem silly and insignificant but I think that God cares about my good hair days and my bad hair days.  After all, the Bible says that he is aware of every hair that falls from my head.  I’m sure He is just as concerned when they don’t cooperate with me, too!

Stay in the zone

I saw Tony Bennett on Oprah last night.  They’ve started replaying her show at 10 PM and so I watch it if it looks like something interesting might be on.  The show was about top performers and their songs that have been downloaded on IPODs.  Carrie Underwood’s “Jesus Take the Wheel” has been the most popular download.  She was there to sing her big hit.  Josh Grobin’s “You Raise Me Up” is another big one and he was there to sing something from his new CD. 

Then Tony Bennett came on.  He sang a medley of some of his more popular tunes.  He also sang a few songs from his new CD, “Duets”.  Oprah did a short interview with him; Tony has just turned 80!  She asked him if it was true that he didn’t have a drivers license or own a home.  He said both were true.  He said the one love he had was singing and that is all he ever wanted to do. 

He said when he gets tired of singing, he takes a break and does some painting.  Then when he gets tired of painting, he goes back to singing.  He said that keeps him in the creative zone…and that keeps him happy.  And you have to admit, Tony Bennett sure looks happy.  He always has that smile on his face.  And it’s not that fake looking “I’m a performer” smile….it looks like the genuine “I love what I’m doing” smile.

I know for me…when I’m in that creative zone….I’m a pretty happy girl.  I love thinking about the next thing I’m going to do….the next song, the next concert, the next retreat, the next CD.  In fact, I’m always working on something and sometimes, several things at once.  And it’s like I can’t get enough of it.  I think I could sit in a room and write songs all day long and NEVER get bored.  Just pipe in some fresh brewed coffee to inhale and I’d be good.  I love the moment when I am writing and I feel like the “creative vibe” just washes up on shore and takes me out for a ride.  I just hang on and enjoy the feel of being on that great wave.  It’s an awesome place to be. 

I love how creativity sparks creativity.  I’m discussing a song idea with a friend that I co-write with occasionally…he’ll have a suggestion about a lyric or a possible melody and before you know it, we are diving into that creative zone.  I can’t think of anything that is more fun than that.  We are in the zone and we know it.  We spend three hours working on something before we realize how much time has gone by.  And the only reason we quit is because we have families to get back to and work to get ready for the next day!  

But really, if I could eat, sleep and breathe writing, I would.  In fact, I think I already do!  

Thanks for listening

I love how women can hug, talk and cry at the same time.

It was one of those moments yesterday.  My friend was having one of those bad days…the kind that you want to just crawl back in bed and get under the covers and wait for it to pass.  I knew it was one of those days for her when I gave her a hug.  I asked her if she wanted to go and talk somewhere.  So we found a little quiet place just to talk together for a while.

Isn’t it amazing how it helps just to be able to express how you feel about something?  I find so many times that as I am telling a friend about a hard situation, sometimes the answer becomes clear as I begin to share.  Sometimes I almost feel as if I am sorting out the problem and beginning to make sense of it as I talk to someone about it.  It isn’t even necessary for my friend to give me any feedback; I guess what I need most is their listening ear.  A chance to be honest about how I’m feeling and know that I won’t be judged in the process.  A chance to let all the “junk” come to the surface so that I can begin to sort through what needs to be “thrown away” and what I need to keep.  And through this process, it just helps to have a listening ear, a hand to hold, a shoulder to cry on, and a friend that prays.

So we talked and then we prayed.  I’m thankful again for the opportunity to pray for a friend.  It never ceases to amaze me that “where two or three are gathered”…..HE is definately there!  As we were finishing up I heard my friend say, “thank you for listening, God, thank you for listening.” 

I’ve never thought about just thanking God for listening.  I’ve thanked Him for answers to prayer.  I’ve thanked Him for answers I believed He would bring.  I’ve thanked Him for His touch.  I’ve thanked Him for working in my life.  But I’ve never thanked Him for listening.

What a gift it is to be able to pray.  What a gift it is to know that my Father wants to listen to me.  What a gift that He has provided a way for me to unload the junk so that He can sift through it and show me what needs to be given to Him and show me what I need to keep.  Through prayer I’m able to reach through the earthly pain, up to a Heavenly hand that is bigger than all of my problems.  And all of this is available because He listens.  He allows me to be angry, to be sad, to be heartbroken, to be honest.  He created every emotion in me and He is not afraid of any of them. 

I believe I serve a God who is passionate about me.  That’s why He left the door of communication open between us.  What would my life be like if I could only know God through reading about Him, yet I could never speak with Him?  Instead, my Father desires this relationship with me….this relationship He creates through prayer.  I am convicted even as I write this.  I think of the days that I have skipped my conversation time with Him and I know that He is greived by my lack of attention.  He is waiting to listen and I never come.

I’m so glad that when I do show up in desperate need, like yesterday, He doesn’t turn away and say, “oh no, you haven’t called in three days, why do I want to listen to you now?”  I’m so glad that as soon as I bow my head and say, “Oh Father”…..I am in His presence and He is listening!